Penny Hardaway provides injury updates on David Jones and others prior to showdown with FAU

Wednesday night was business as usual for David Jones.

The Tigers’ lead horse, who’s also the 8th-best scorer in Division I this season, lifted Memphis basketball to a 40-35 halftime lead over Charlotte with 10 points and 3 rebounds on 3-for-5 shooting. Penny Hardaway’s team later expanded that advantage to 76-52 by game’s end using a 36-17 run in the second half. It even outscored the 49ers 13-2 in the final 6:07 and 10-0 in the final 3:52. Jones didn’t contribute a single point to the emphatic rally, however.

He played just four minutes in the final period after a Charlotte defender scratched his left eye. He checked out at the 13:14 mark and never returned to the contest. But his teammates—having gone 3-6 in their previous nine outings—were riding so high in their resounding triumph that they hardly even noticed.

“When he got hurt, I didn’t even realize he was off the floor or that he wasn’t coming back until later in the game,” point guard Jahvon Quinerly said Friday. “We were in a rhythm.”

Jones missed Friday’s practice with his injured cornea, as did Jordan Brown and Jayhlon Young after both sat against Charlotte. Jayden Hardaway was also inactive versus the 49ers, but he practiced in a no-contact capacity.

Penny Hardaway called all four of them questionable for Sunday’s highly anticipated meeting with Florida Atlantic (21-6, 11-3 AAC), the team that beat Memphis (19-8, 8-6 AAC) in last year’s NCAA Tournament before heading to the Final Four. The No. 9 seed Owls also took out Nae’Qwan Tomlin and Kansas State during their improbable March Madness run.

This weekend’s matchup is personal for some of the Tigers, but it’s also an opportunity for Memphis to gain leverage in the American Athletic Conference (AAC or The American) standings. The U of M—with at-large bid contention basically being out of the question—must win the league’s postseason tournament in Fort Worth, Texas next month to advance to its third consecutive Big Dance. It needs to finish at least No. 4 in The American’s regular season standings to earn a double-bye to the tourney’s quarterfinals. And if the Tigers fail, they’ll have to win four games in four days to save their season.

Memphis needs all hands on deck to beat FAU inside FedExForum, especially Jones (21.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game). And Hardaway seems fairly confident his best player will be available.

“David is kind of questionable. But knowing him, I think he’s gonna play,” the sixth-year coach said.